Alexander Wang’s collections call to mind many things, but rays of sunshine? Not so much. Yet that’s exactly the picture he painted at Manhattan’s Pier 94 tonight, as his Spring 2017 show opened with contrast stitch board shorts, palm-tree-printed sweatshirts, lifeguard lanyard neon necklaces, and bikini tops in poplin and silk, all topped befittingly by head after head of bleach blonde hair.

“Alex has become a master of getting girls to make a change,” said hairstylist and longtime Wang collaborator Guido Palau backstage, referencing the designer’s ability to persuade first time and veteran models to undergo dramatic hair transformations for his shows. Last season it was a handful of breakout newcomers, including instant sensation Katie Moore who went from waist-grazing dark blonde lengths to a micro-banged bob in one whiplash-inducing shade of fire engine red.

This season, said Palau, the collection was "all about surf and sun and sexiness.” In the days before the show, he sent models to colorist Victoria Hunter at the West Village's Whittemore House salon, where reference images showing towheaded ’70s surfers and skaters hung on the walls. The goal: to take 18 of Wang's cast members, including Moore, to pitch-perfect shades of platinum that were neither ashy nor honeyed.

“It was a pretty radical transformation,” admitted Palau, who, for his part, spent the past two days razoring off the freshly dyed lengths into boyish shags ranging in length from chin to collarbone. As they watched their hair fall to the floor, a handful of girls—some of whom still hadn't snapped out of a state of shock with less than one hour until showtime—seemed slightly giddy. “It’s too soon,” said Ysaunny Brito, laughing about her assymetrical crop of bleach. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll be like, ‘What?!’ ”

Nearby, Alexandra Elizabeth and show opener Anique Yozsi snapped selfies. Across the room, newcomer Hannah Bennett’s eyes sparkled as she ran her fingers over her textured bangs (given just the right amount of texture with a spritz of Redken Fashion Waves), as if to ensure they were still there. Girls looked each other up and down exclaiming, “It’s dope!”

“I think they feel more confident being tomboy sexy than they do being sexy sexy, do you know what I mean?” said Palau. (We do.) As Impy Lukkarila, who lost some seven inches of length and her hair color virginity, put it: “I feel more badass—really invincible.” In other words, she’s stoked.